primogeniture [ruina rex] | ricky & dante
[Dante is very good at sticking his head in the sand. It’s not one of his finer qualities, and he’s fully aware that it’s a really poor time for him to recede. It’s not even about Kaiser -- at any other time Dante would have been more than able to hit the ground running dealing with all this grief. But it’s not any other time; it’s the time when he made a half-confession to Teilo and is now forced to confront something he’s been hiding from for years.
He’s had a lot of last minute emergency appointments, which has been a small mercy. It serves as a distraction. One person that he’s not seen: Ricky. It’s difficult to imagine how he’s taking this. Dante knows he was never fond of his father, but that can’t make his death any easier. Presumably Ricky doesn’t want to talk about it, or else he would have come knocking on Dante’s door at some godless hour. Were he feeling less selfish Dante might have sought him out anyway, because goodness knows Ricky’s mental health is tenuous.
It’s just been difficult to motivate himself to do more than the bare minimum right now. There’s one thing that nags at him, though. Aneurysms. There can be a genetic component, and as far as Dante can tell nobody has brought this up with Ricky yet; it would be prudent for Ricky to get tested sooner rather than later.
He knocks on Ricky’s door with characteristic, precise taps.] Ricky? It’s Dante. [The reply comes that the door is unlocked, which Dante takes as an invitation. It’s a bit like walking into an ashtray. The room smells stale; it’s a mess, and Ricky is curled forlornly on the bed buried in a hoodie far too large for him. Charlie’s, presumably.
Dante sighs, not unkindly, and crosses to the window where he nudges the curtains open and unlatches it, pushing it open to allow a little fresh air into the room.]
When did you last leave your room? [It’s not a question asked in judgement, but nor is it asked with a huge deal of gentleness. It is crisp and clinical, as most things Dante does will be. Besides, what else ought he say? ‘Are you okay?’ The answer is insultingly obvious.]
